Shirley Proctor Bingham

1928 - 2023

Shirley Proctor Bingham

Exeter, NH - Shirley Proctor Bingham, of RiverWoods in Exeter, New Hampshire passed away on her 95th birthday on August 4, 2023.

Shirley is survived by her children Sharon Stickney, Faith Proctor, Mark Proctor and stepchildren Carol Bingham, Barbara Pixton, Edith Bingham and Fred Bingham, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her mother Wilma Menzel and her stepfather William Menzel, her 1st husband Robert Proctor and her 2nd husband Robert "Bing" Bingham.

Shirley spent most of her early years in Kingsley, Michigan, later going on to study nursing at the University of Michigan. After graduating with a BS in nursing she moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked for the National Institutes of Health.

During her nursing career she worked as a behavioral, obstetrical, and delivery room nurse.

After marrying Robert Proctor she lived in Aberdeen, Maryland where her 3 children were born. Then the family moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts ultimately settling in Weston, Massachusetts.

After her separation from her first husband she moved to Greenfield, New Hampshire and worked at the Crotchet Mountain Rehabilitation Center as their school nurse and later as a teacher at the Cheshire School of Nursing in Keene, NH. After marrying "Bing" she moved to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan to teach at Lake Superior State University and be near her parents.

In her "retirement" she returned to Greenfield and worked at the Peterborough Birthing Center, later fully retiring and moving with "Bing" to RiverWoods in Exeter, New Hampshire.

She was a traveler. As a young woman she biked a thousand miles through post World War II Europe and then later in life traveled to the Virgin Islands and Mexico as a troop leader in the Girl Scouts. Then more recently she traveled to Peru, Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Ireland, Scotland, Norway and Canada with family members.

Shirley loved biking, hiking, snowshoeing, gardening, camping, canoeing, square dancing, playing the clarinet, sewing and painting in watercolors. She was very liberated for her time, strong willed, intelligent, thoughtful, creative and a wonderful Mother.

The interment will be held on Saturday, October 21 at 2:00 p.m. at Greenvale Cemetery in Greenfield, NH with a celebration of life to immediately follow at her daughter Sharon's home - 13 Elm Street, Antrim, New Hampshire.

The family requests in lieu of flowers for donations to be made in her name to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation or the American Cancer Society.